Judge Nominee For Higher U.s. Court

Marcus, Based In Miami, Could Go To 11th Circuit

Stanley Marcus, a veteran Miami federal judge and former top prosecutor, is on his way to the Atlanta-based tribunal that is one step below the U.S. Supreme Court.

President Clinton on Thursday said he will nominate Marcus, 52, to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court decides appeals from Florida, Alabama and Georgia and has one of the biggest criminal dockets in the nation.

The nomination must be confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate, in which Marcus' Republican affiliation and good judicial reputation are expected to discourage opposition.

The son of immigrants, a native of New York City and a graduate of Harvard Law School, Marcus served as a federal prosecutor in Detroit before moving to Miami in 1982.

He was appointed to the bench by former President Ronald Reagan in 1985 after three years as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

Marcus presided over a major expansion of that office to escalate the war on drugs.

During part of his tenure as a federal trial judge, Marcus was one of a trio that ran the district, which has courthouses in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Key West and Fort Pierce.

Although the 11th Circuit is based in Atlanta, Marcus may not have to move out of South Florida. He would fill the position that opened up when Judge Peter T. Fay switched to senior, or part-time, status. Like Fay and Judge Rosemary Barkett, Marcus may choose to keep his chambers in Miami.

Marcus beat out at least two other candidates, according to the Daily Business Review newspaper. They are Judge Barbara Pariente of the Fourth District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach and Mary Doyle, a professor and former dean of the University of Miami School of Law.

Marcus' nomination comes soon after his friend and fellow Republican Thomas Scott took his post as U.S. Attorney in Miami. Scott is a former federal judge who was sworn in, coincidentally, the same day as Marcus: Aug. 16, 1985.